Asymptomatic giant cell arteritis.

A 71-year-old asymptomatic man was investigated because of anemia and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Temporal artery biopsy showed that he had active giant cell arteritis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of giant cell arteritis in an asymptomatic patient. Giant cell arteritis may remain undiagnosed during life in many cases and may be an important cause of unexplained anemia in the elderly.